The Patriot-Statesman

In 1861, when Lincoln's newly appointed secretary of state, William Henry Seward, was warned that German Americans would be disappointed if one of their kinsmen did not receive a first-class diplomatic post, he burst out in rage: "Disappointment! You speak to me of disappointment! To me, who was justly entitled to the Republican nomination for the presidency, and who had to stand aside and see it given to a little Illinois lawyer! You speak to me of disappointment!"